Power-Hungry Worm
by HelenaLevi
Summary: Shrimpshipping (Haga x Ryuzaki). When they were famous, the media had painted a very strange picture of Insector Haga. They made him seem frail, shy. They thought he was a sweetheart whose life was lonely and sad, with his disapproving parents and lack of social life. About half of that was true. But that was as far as the camera flashes could illuminate and the crowds could see.


When they were famous, the media had painted a very strange picture of Insector Haga. They made him seem frail, shy. They thought he was a sweetheart whose life was lonely and sad, with his disapproving parents and lack of social life. They placed Dinosaur Ryuzaki as the gruff, macho-in-training who was his reason to keep going; a protector, a friend. And there were, of course, rumors that they were gay.

About half of that was true. Haga did have a negligent family, seemingly taking every possible route to stay out of their son's life. They were rich, providing a large home where it was easy for them to hide. They didn't celebrate their son's birthday (even Haga himself hardly remembered it anymore) and they didn't care to invest in what happened to him. They were simply too busy. On top of that, Haga had a history of bullies and isolation. Ryuzaki had put himself as his only friend and guard, as well as, yes, his lover.

But that was as far as the camera flashes could illuminate and the crowds could see.

Haga was anything but frail. In a physical fight he would lose easily, but in a battle of words his venemous words held power. His heart wasn't battered, bruised, broken- it just barely even existed, but what was there was near inpenetrable. Everyone who ever tried to smash it was another faceless enemy Haga would exterminate. As far as the insect duelist was concerned, he was a king and a treasure to the world. Words could hurt him, but they never scarred. He just kept going.

Ryuzaki, on the other hand, was much more sensitive. He built his walls, but he was still soft on the inside. He was more easily hurt. If Haga weren't there to drag him into another bad plan he would've fallen farther a long time ago. He could try and take most of the punches and kicks but when verbal knives were thrown, he couldn't pull them out without driving them in deeper.

Although rumors of their affair were common, they never seemed to grasp what exact sort of relationship it was. What people seemed to think was that it was a cuddly, innocent one- and part of it was that, admittedly. Mostly from Ryuzaki- a bad beating found recovery through a shared bed and a gentle hug that didn't seem to end until dawn. What it was otherwise was a friends-with-benefits ordeal; Ryuzaki hadn't intended it to go that way, but one night after Duelist Kingdom, Haga had pressed him to a wall in a hotel. The insect duelist had leaned in to whisper in his ear: "I would like to make it perfectly clear that you're mine."

Despite that, it was hard to call Ryuzaki Haga's property. Although he treated him like a slave at times, there was otherwise nothing indicating him to be less than human in the bug nerd's four eyes. He still asked for the dinosaur geek's consent, and he still gave his opinion some value. It was just that Haga dominated their relationship behind the public's back.

Did he want people to think that he was weak? Why? Was he going to use that pity as a means of control, using it to his advantage at every opportunity? He didn't do anything actively to keep up that image, though. He acted the same in public as he did in private. He never cried, nor shown any vulnerability. Or was that part of the disguise; a double layer, where people would believe that beneath his strong skin was a weak soul, not knowing that the 'weak soul' was another cover for the reality that was his complete demand to be worshipped?

He was kind of a manipulative little worm.

Ryuzaki knew there was a heart somewhere. Haga hadn't stuck by him for no reason- and more than just that Ryuzaki was the first person possibly ever to stay by his side. It was hard to tell past those thick-rimmed glasses what look was in his eyes whenever he slid his hand into his pants, or whenever his vaguely honey-tasting lips left his. It could've been love. There was nothing that wasn't genuine about he treated him. Haga seemed better at peace with Ryuzaki nearby, and any fronts he put up to hide his inability to control every situation- a calm to make it seem like no words could touch him at all, for example- were nonexistent if Ryuzaki was the only other one in the room.

Yet, it could've still been a desire to control everything, even those who cared about him. Haga was power-hungry. That's why he kept hunting down the Pharaoh, after all, even though there was no way to win.

What would happen if the dinosaur duelist ever left? Would Haga be crushed? Would someone have successfully broken him then, leaving him alone when he thought he wasn't? He probably would. Or maybe he would find someone else to boss around- honestly, that would make the difference between love and dominance.

Eh, Ryuzaki didn't care either way. After all, he'd been alone too. His mother was often busy, trying to make ends meet and trying to keep them financially afloat. His father had left eons ago. He'd started out the popular kid, but that had decayed into "ew, you still like that dumb kiddy stuff?" before he'd gotten a chance at fame. Haga was his first friend, too. He would never leave him.

Plus, the sex was good.


End file.
